Report: Missouri latest to contact SEC

By Jason Shoot

Published: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 11:36 PM.

Division D: South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia Tech

Each team could play its three division foes and a rotation of two programs in each of the other divisions, leading to a total of nine conference games annually, one more than in seasons past. Room would remain in each program's schedule to arrange for games against traditional rivals outside the SEC.

If the SEC reaches 16 teams, it only makes sense that other conferences will follow -- if they haven't made the same move already. The creation of superconferences could have all sorts of consequences, such as an increase of regular season games or, perhaps, a total overhaul of the current BCS/bowl system.

The ensuing fallout certainly would shake up the landscape of college football nationwide. My guess is that when the dust has settled, the SEC, like my dad's front yard 31 years ago, will be the prettiest yard for miles, too.

Bay County residents have hurricanes Opal and Eloise. I have Mount St. Helens.

I was 11 days shy of 4 years old when St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, and wreaked havoc across the Pacific Northwest via lahars, earthquakes and an ash column of pulverized mountain rock stretching skyward 80,000 feet. My hometown of Yakima, Wash., stood little more than an hour's drive northwest and in the direct path of the ashfall.

I remember very little about that day, of course, but I do recall a clear, blue sky turning pitch black within minutes and ash falling from the sky as heavy as a midwinter blizzard. A few hours later 5 inches of ash had covered the ground. Despite city officials' pleas in the following days for citizens not to water their lawns, my dad ignored them and set a sprinkler in the front yard. We had the only green yard for miles.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that 176 earthquakes of magnitude 2.6 or greater preceded the volcano's eruption. As I read tonight yet another story pertaining to potential expansion of the Southeastern Conference -- ESPN.com is reporting Missouri of the Big 12 Conference has asked the SEC for inclusion -- I can't help think of the tremors and aftershocks that have persisted since Texas A&M officially joined the SEC last month.

The ashfall from Mount St. Helens, located in southwest Washington state, touched 13 states and landed as far away as Minnesota and Oklahoma. If recent reports are true, the SEC conceivably could stretch from Texas to West Virginia.

SEC football coaches en masse have sidestepped questions about the topic of expansion, generally saying that they trust and defer to the decision-makers above them. Missouri coach Gary Pinkel had no problem voicing his thoughts about expansion and the state of the Big 12 on a St. Louis radio station two weeks ago, however.

"We have problems in our league and we all know what most of them are," he told KFNS radio. "But we don’t solve them. We’ve lost three really good members in a year and a half and we think we’d maybe wake up and try to fix the problems so that we could have a great league. Because until the problems are fixed this stuff’s going to be happening. In my opinion, it’s going to go on and on and on and it’s not a whole lot of fun to be part of it.”

Big 12 leaders reportedly reached an agreement Monday on one of those issues, revenue sharing among the member schools. Whether that's enough to prevent a mass exodus remains to be determined. Seemingly each time a Big 12 institution expresses an interest in preserving the conference, reports are surfacing of overtures made to other conferences.

It's my opinion that a 16-team SEC is inevitable. SEC commissioner Mike Slive largely has been ahead of the curve, and convincing member presidents that Texas A&M was a natural fit -- considering that university's respected academic standing and location in east Texas -- was a wise and proactive effort.

Missouri, too, fits the academic profile the SEC reportedly would seek of any new member. Missouri ultimately may not be the conference's next member, but adding another program would give the SEC an even 14 programs, which would assuage some scheduling concerns. Bulking up to 16 teams would force some difficult decisions to be made (for instance, two eight-team divisions or four four-team divisions?).

Just for fun, let's say Missouri indeed does follow Texas A&M to the SEC, which in turn (bear with me) also reaches out to West Virginia and Virginia Tech to reach the 16-team mark. Personally, I believe four four-team divisions would be the most ideal scenario, broken down as follows:

Division A: LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Missouri.

Division B: Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Mississippi State

Division C: Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Vanderbilt

Division D: South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia Tech

Each team could play its three division foes and a rotation of two programs in each of the other divisions, leading to a total of nine conference games annually, one more than in seasons past. Room would remain in each program's schedule to arrange for games against traditional rivals outside the SEC.

If the SEC reaches 16 teams, it only makes sense that other conferences will follow -- if they haven't made the same move already. The creation of superconferences could have all sorts of consequences, such as an increase of regular season games or, perhaps, a total overhaul of the current BCS/bowl system.

The ensuing fallout certainly would shake up the landscape of college football nationwide. My guess is that when the dust has settled, the SEC, like my dad's front yard 31 years ago, will be the prettiest yard for miles, too.